From Past to Future
by Shadow Kaleb
Summary: Love can come in ways no one would expect... But however it comes, love breaks barreirs, love travels the longest distances, love surpasses all things... Love can soften the hardest of hearts. KratosXAnna
1. Prologue

**Author's note: **This was made in cooperation with Aio. Many of the ideas here are hers. Anything that is written between three stars () is a remembrance one of the characters is having. Anything written in between parentheses is a note I put, which is not really part of the fanfic. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Tales of Symphonia, its characters, or any of the songs displayed here, unless stated otherwise.

**Introduction**

"I'm sorry, Mithos, I just don't think it's right."

"But why not, Kratos? Don't you want a world with no discrimination?"

"Of course I do! But I don't think this is what Martel meant when she spoke her last. Neither do I think this is the correct way of doing it."

"Fine! I don't need you! Be that way. Be like Yuan."

"Humph. I'm sorry, Mithos."

"Just leave!"

The maroon-haired man turned around and left the room. Kratos walked on through Derris-Kharlan, severely upset. That night, he thought about the conversation he had had with his former student. Finally, he decided to leave. And besides, life in Derris-Kharlan wasn't what one would call exciting. A conversation with one of the angels flashed right through his head:

"Hello. How has your life been?" he asked.

"I do not have a life, Lord Kratos," answered the angel who kept the mana fragments in place.

"Um-ha. And… what do you like to do?"

"Whatever you want me to, Lord Kratos."

"Riiight. Well, what have you been up to?"

"What I am programmed to do, Lord Kratos."

(Cut Scene:

"Mithos, dearie, there's a problem in Los Angeles!"

"What is it, sugar?"

"They repeat 'Lord Kratos' too much, don't you think, sweetie?"

"Yes, don't you love it, honey? Doesn't that make you feel important?"

Sorry, couldn't help it XD and it was Aio's fault! Points at her Really!)

"Where are you going, Lord Kratos?" asked the angel who kept the mana fragments.

"Humph. I don't feel the need to explain myself."

Kratos stood in the teleporter to Sylvarant and waited to be transported there.


	2. Anna Vergangenheit

**Anna Vergangenheit**

"Daddy! Daddy! Where are they taking mommy?"

"Calm down, Anna. We'll be alright."

"Mommy!"

Anna's father took his three year-old daughter in his arms and started running for a crack in a cliff, where he hid Anna.

"I'm going to rescue Mommy, Anna. Stay here and don't get out for any reason," he commanded.

He ran with all his might. He couldn't believe the Desians had attacked Luin, and he couldn't believe they had taken his wife. He prayed to the Goddess Martel that his daughter would be all right.

Catching up with the Desians that had taken his wife prisoner, Anna's father started fighting with whichever Desian stood in his way, until he reached his wife. Knocking the Desians that held her hostage to the floor, he took her hand and ran as if his life depended on it… both of their lives depended on it… as did Anna's.

Reaching the crevasse, he pushed his wife in and cuddled himself against Anna and his wife, praying, pleading, they wouldn't be found.

Ten years later…

Anna was now fifteen years old. She was a beauty, flesh-and-bone. Her green eyes were as deep as the forest and her wavy hair as brown as the willow's bark. Her skin slightly tanned because of the exercise. They had just arrived in the Luin inn after traveling around Sylvarant for ten years; they would be staying there for a period of time, as they had done ever since Luin had been attacked by the Desians for the first time, and when Anna's mother was taken hostage. But while she was being held captive by the Desians, she heard something terrible.

Pushing her ear against the door of their room, Anna eavesdropped on her parents' conversation.

"Laura, we have to tell Anna what you heard while you were a detainee of the Desians. She's got the right to know it, and if it's true, her life might be in danger," said Anna's father to his wife.

"I know, Thomas, but I'm afraid it might be too much for Anna."

"She doesn't deserve this life of evasion. Not when she doesn't know what she's escaping from."

"I know, I know, but how would you feel in my place? How would you feel in _her_ place?"

"I'd feel grateful!" he exploded. "I'd feel grateful for the new sense given to my nomad life!"

From outside, Anna heard a slap. She knew her mother had a short fuse, and wasn't the kind of woman who let herself be yelled at.

"Don't shout to me like that, Thomas. If you get altered so easily, how do you expect to tell Anna?"

"So you're telling her?"

"I didn't say anything like that. I just said that you get angered really straightforwardly."

"Hmph."

_Tell me what? What could Mom have possibly heard when she was taken hostage?_¸ wondered Anna, who clearly remembered that day.

"Fine," conceded Laura, after a moment's thought. "I'll tell Anna."

That was Anna's mark for her to dash back to the hall's beginning, knowing her parents would come out any second. Sitting down on the floor, she pretended doing something on the floor in a bored way.

"Anna, honey, would you come here for a second?" asked her mother, opening the door. "There's something I want to talk to you about."

Anna incorporated herself and walked into the room. She sat herself in a bed and listened to her mother.

"Anna… I don't know if you remember that day… when we lived back here in Luin, before we started traveling the world… when I was taken a hostage by Desians, ten years ago, or so."

Anna, nodded, looking at her mother straight in the eye.

"Well, when I was with Desians, I heard something before your father saved me. The Desians were talking about… something called the 'Angelus Project.' It involved creating something inside someone's body, and they thought that that someone was me. Because…" Laura made a pause as she breathed deeply. "Because they mistook me for you. That's why we have been traveling from town to town all these years. We were afraid they might come back for you."

Anna looked down to the floor; she didn't know what to say.

"Anna, all of this was because we lo--", but Anna's mother couldn't ever finish the sentence.

Outside, destruction, screams and evil laughter could be heard.

"Hahaha! This town is now under the control of Lord Kvar! Guys! Catch any human that you can!"

"Oh, no! We must hide! The Desians have found us!" cried Anna's father.

Quickly, the Vergangenheit family rushed out of the inn in search of a refuge. But unfortunately, as they were running, an arrow shot by a crossbow reached Thomas on the side, and he fell to the floor.

"Anna! Laura! Run! Don't stop, I'll be fine! Just put yourselves in a safe place and I'll catch up with you later!" he ordered as he tried to stand up.

"But Daddy!"

"Thomas…"

"Run!"

Laura took Anna by the hand, and ran as quickly as she could, but they started hearing rushed steps in the distance coming for them.

"The Desians are right behind us. Anna, run faster!"

They started running faster, but regrettably, it was not enough; the Desians quickly neared them.

"It's her! The woman with that girl! The woman who escaped ten years ago, subject A0011!"

They ran as fast as their feet let them, but the Desians caught up with them. The faster of the Desians grabbed Laura's free wrist and stopped them from going any faster. Laura let go of Anna.

"Run! Save yourself, my daughter!"

"Mommy! Please don't!"

"Anna, run away this instant! Run before the others catch up with us! If you don't, I'll never forgive you!"

"But…"

"Just run!"

"Mommy… I love you!"

Anna closed her eyes, turned around and started running, not daring to look back… she faintly heard an "I love you, too," from her mother as the other Desians circled her mother.

After that attack, Anna didn't ever see either of her parents ever again.

Anna installed herself in Luin, not wanting to leave the place where her parents had died. To survive, she had opened a small battle school, which had little clientele and less prestige. But she managed to get on through.

The reason for her school not being known to most of the people was that she taught her own battle style, and she was a woman. Actually, she was the only woman knowing anything about self-defense in Luin.

The years had passed and she had grown accustomed to life in Luin, having a few good friends and calm life. She was twenty-three now, and with the years, her beauty grew.

vvvvv

"Hello there, Anna! How is your school going?" asked David, a student in Anna's school.

"V-very well, David, th-thanks." Anna blushed.

"I'm glad. Shall we start today's class?"

"O-of course! Whatever you want!"

Anna was too afraid of rejection to tell David what she felt for him. The blond-haired, blue-eyed handsome young man barely seemed to notice her, so she kept her feelings a secret.

vvvvv

But one day, Luin was attacked again by the Desians. Her little school was attacked, also, and Anna did what she could to defend herself, but she was quickly outnumbered and taken a hostage.

"Finally," laughed the leader Desian, "we've got the Angelus Project. She must be taken immediately to Kvar."


	3. A New Companion

**A New Companion**

After some days of traveling alone, Kratos came to a Desian caravan. Unfortunately for the Desians, they decided to start picking on the angel.

"Hah, look at that! A poor human traveling alone. And he has an Exsphere! What do you think we should do with him, guys? Should we take him with us to the Asgard Ranch?"

"Yes, yes, Lord Kvar should be very pleased. Maybe he'll even up rank us!"

"Okay, guys, get him!"

With a heavy sigh, Kratos unsheathed his sword.

Slash Slash Slash

The corpses of the Desians in charge of the caravan fell lifelessly to the floor. Kratos broke the chains that tied the prisoners who were being taken to the ranch and freed them.

"Thank you, thank you! You're an angel sent by the Goddess Martel!" cried one of the prisoners as he ran back to Luin. Kratos stared at him…. No; it couldn't be… he couldn't possibly know where he came from.

When Kratos made sure all the prisoners had made it back to Luin, he went on with his journey. But maybe he didn't make sure very well, because some meters ahead he heard something among the trees' tops.

"Who's there?" he asked, unsheathing his sword again.

From a tree's foliage, two deep green eyes emerged, followed by a beautiful woman. Her long wavy her was as brown as wood, she reflected determination and power. Although her clothing was rather… unusual. She was dressed with the robe that all prisoners in the human ranch have, but she had tied some ropes to adjust it more to her well-formed figure.

Sheathing his sword back, Kratos asked: "What do you want? I'm too occupied."

"Humph. How inconsiderate!" chastised the woman.

"Inconsiderate? And just why, may I ask?"

"No! You may not ask!" snapped her.

"Wha--?"

"Well, how dare you rescue a demoiselle like myself and then leave her stranded here in middle of nothingness just like that?" she asked, as if Kratos had insisted nonstop on her telling him why he was inconsiderate.

"Luin is not more than a mile away."

"Yeah, right, whatever. I'll stick with you. I'm Anna. What's your name?"

Kratos just kept silent.

"Fine. Whatever. I don't need to know your name, because either way I'm just sticking with you."

Anna started on a downpour of chastising and reprimanding Kratos, who just kept ignoring her in turn. And so, their journey started.


	4. Survival

**Survival**

"… and that's why you mustn't dare breathe so deeply again, are we clear? I'm not going to go through all your little whims and I'm also not willing to have these conversations again with you, all right? So don't make me go through this again!"

Kratos had decidedly resorted to ignoring Anna's compulsive chastising and yelling, and everything that she told him came out right through the other ear. But there was a point in which he couldn't take it anymore. Pulling out his wings, he flew away. Or at least, that's what he had hoped to do.

"No fair! No wings!" cried Anna as she gripped the angel's leg and flew as a stowaway. "Now put me down on the floor!"

Kratos could barely believe that Anna seemed not to pay much attention to his beautiful wings, as if everybody had wings. But as he had known Anna these last two hours, she seemed not to pay much attention to anything that didn't matter to her. He kicked and tossed trying to force Anna to let go… and it worked. With a high-pitched scream, the beautiful woman fell down to the woods. Less than a minute after that, Kratos heard a piercing scream come from the woods' edge. Feeling guilty, he flew rapidly down to floor level to see what had happened to Anna. She expected to find her between a bear's jaws, or corralled by evil enemies, but she actually had the situation quite under control.

She had been attacked by Desians that had found the corpses and empty caravan along the road. However, she had obtained a whip from a Desian whipmaster and controlled everything perfectly. It seemed as if she had arranged a choreography herself for this very battle a month ago, practicing daily, for she moved so decidedly, so methodically, that the Desians seemed unable to keep up with her contortions, twists, and puzzling technique.

Crack

The last Desian fell lifeless to the floor. Anna turned around and noticed Kratos.

"Oh. So you decided to come down?" she asked, with such arrogance that made Kratos feel even worse.

"I… uh, I heard you scream, so I thought I'd come check on you," he answered.

"Well, too bad, 'cause I've got this situation perfectly under control. You know what? I can survive without you. Perfectly."

(Cut Scene: Suddenly, daylight seemed to fade away, and the corpses of the Desians started rising again. A limelight illuminated the darkness and focused on Anna.

"At first I was afraid, I was petrified," she sang,

"Kept thinkin' I could never live,

"without you by my side.

"But then I spent oh so many nights thinkin' how

"you did me wrong. And I grew strong,

"and I learned how to get along."

The Desians and Anna danced around the field and lights from the trees illuminated the makeshift theatre.

"And so you're back, from outer space

"I just walked in to find you here with

"that sad look upon your face.

"I should've changed that stupid lock, I should've

"made you leave your key!

"If I had known for just one second you'd

"be back to bother me."

Anna sang as if she lived with Kratos, or had known him from long ago.

"Go on now go, walk out the door

"Just turn around now, cause

"you're not welcome anymore

"Weren't you the one who tried

"to hurt me with goodbye

"Did you think I'd crumble, did you

"think I'd lay down and die

"Oh no not I, I will survive

"Oh, as long as I know how

"to love, I know I'll stay alive

"I've got all my life to live

"I've got all my love to give

"I'll survive, I will survive

"Hey, Hey!"

Here, the undead Desians started playing their musical instruments, and danced along with Anna.

"It took all the strength I had

"not to fall apart.

"Just trying hard to mend the pieces of

"my broken heart

"And I spent so many nights just feelin'

"sorry for myself, I used to cry

"But now I hold my head up high

"And you see me, somebody new

"I'm not that chained up little

"person still in love with you

"And so you felt like droppin' in, and

"just expect me to be free

"But now I'm savin' all my lovin' for

"someone who's lovin' me

"Go now go, walk out the door

"Just turn around now, cause

"you're not welcome anymore

"Weren't you the one who tried

"to break me with goodbye

"Did you think I'd crumble, did you

"think I'd lay down and die

"Oh no not I, I will survive

"Oh, as long as I know how

"to love I know I'll stay alive

"I've got all my life to live,

"I've got all my love to give,

"I'll survive, I will survive…

"Oohhhhhhhh…"

Anna obtained the title of "Survival." A whip, iron nerves, and a bag to keep everything in place. A title for she who fights with careful, mystifying, and methodical tactics, which seem almost as dancing. Such flexibility! Where does she put her bones?

The Desians fell back to death and Anna looked at Kratos with arrogant eyes, waiting for his reaction. Although the poor man wasn't sure of how to react after hearing a song out of the blue.

"The world's going nuts…" murmured Kratos.)

Well, as I said before, Anna had everything under control, until she heard an egotistical voice from behind her. "What is going on here? Why are my men on the floor? Could it be that this human beat them?" Kvar stared at Anna.

Anna turned around and faced Kvar directly. "Yes, I beat them. What do you think about it?"

"A mere woman? But you're—My Angelus Project!"

A rush of memories came flashing through Anna's mind… Thomas… Desians… Luin… Destruction… Screams… Laura… Angelus Project! That was it! The experiment her mother had been taken away for! Anna touched her left hand's back, where a blue, shining, and smooth stone stood mounted. They had put it on her as soon as she was captured, and she remembered how painful it had been; at first, she had felt her life was being taken away, but after a while, she started feeling more powerful, more capable, even as if she had another person inside her.

"I'll capture you, even if I have to kill myself for it!" swore Kvar, as he drew out his lightning spitting staff.

Anna gripped her whip. Taking a deep breath, she waited for Kvar's attack. He charged at her with all his might.

At first the battle went well, but Anna started finding the odds against her after a while. She fell to the floor, exhausted. Then, she felt light steps landing besides her.

"Mercenary, this is my battle," she told him. "Please don't interfere."

"My name is Kratos," he said. "And it's already a lost battle. Let me help you."

Anna's stubborn mind didn't budge. Gripping her whip again, she charged one last time against Kvar, but didn't even make it to the Grand Cardinal, as a lightning struck her mid-way. This infuriated Kratos. Unsheathing his sword, he charged at Kvar, who was already weakened as a result of Anna's efforts. He won the battle handily and softly carried Anna's weakened and hurt body to a cave in which he could heal her calmly.


End file.
